Payment solutions for Swiss associations – 5 practical guides

In Switzerland, there are over 100,000 clubs – and almost every single one of them is sooner or later faced with the question: How do I collect membership fees, donations, ticket sales, and event revenues digitally? Whether cashless at the club festival, membership fees via payment link, donations via an online form, merch and tickets in the club shop, or a central platform for the entire association – our five guides show you step-by-step for every payment occasion how to set up the appropriate solution, how much it costs, and which Swiss providers are suitable.

This overview page summarises all five guides and helps you find the right entry point – whether you are planning a club festival, want to modernise the annual collection of membership fees, or want to bring 50 sections under one platform as an umbrella association.

Guide 1: Cashless collecting at club festivals

QR code · Tap to Pay · Card terminal · Festival catering

At the club festival, bratwurst and a lack of cash clash: visitors have no cash, helpers juggle with change, and at 11:00 PM, the treasurer is still rolling coins. This guide compares three methods for cashless payment collection at the booth – printed QR code (EUR 0 hardware), Tap to Pay on the helper's smartphone, and mobile card terminal – and shows you how to get ready to start in 30 minutes.

For whom: Sports clubs (recreational tournament, home-match catering), music clubs (annual concert with bar), Pfadi (quarter-festival stand), shooting clubs (village festival), any club with 1–4 festivals per year.

Core topics: Three methods compared (8 criteria), costing for 80–200 transactions, setup guide per method, settlement for club accounting, three practical examples (football tournament, concert, Pfadi flea market).

→ Go to guide: Cashless collecting at club festivals

Guide 2: Collecting membership fees digitally

Payment link · Recurring · QR invoice · Club software

The annual collection of membership fees is the biggest time-killer for any club treasurer: Excel list, sending QR invoices, chasing up for weeks, writing reminders. A payment link (Paylink) by email solves the problem: member clicks, selects TWINT or credit card, pays in seconds. The treasurer sees the payment immediately. This guide compares four methods – from the paying-in slip to club software – and calculates from when the switch is worthwhile.

For whom: Any club with 30+ members that collects annual or seasonal fees. Particularly valuable for gymnastics clubs, music clubs, choirs, and martial arts clubs with monthly fees.

Core topics: Four methods compared (Excel vs. Paylink vs. Webshop vs. Club software), costing for 200 members at EUR 120, recurring payments (Recurring), practical example «Gymnastics club: from 6 weeks to 12 days», step-by-step guide.

→ Go to guide: Collecting membership fees digitally

Guide 3: Collecting donations as a Swiss club

Donation form · QR code donation · Recurring Donations · Tax principles

For non-profit clubs, support associations, animal clubs, and social projects, donations are the main source of income. This guide shows you how to set up an online donation form with logo and suggested amounts, offer QR code donations on site at the booth or on flyers, and automate benefactor contributions as recurring donations. Additionally, it explains the tax principles: When is a club allowed to issue donation receipts, and what is required for cantonal tax exemption?

For whom: Non-profit clubs, support associations, animal shelters, parent clubs, relief organisations, social projects – all clubs for which donations are a central source of income.

Core topics: Four donation channels (Form, QR, Paylink, Recurring), provider comparison (RaiseNow vs. PSP vs. Club software), TWINT-only-QR vs. multi-payment method-QR, benefactor tiers, tax exemption and donation receipt, costing for EUR 15,000 donation volume.

→ Go to guide: Collecting donations as a Swiss club

Guide 4: Club shop – selling merch, tickets, and courses online

Mini webshop · Fan shop · Ticket sales · Course registration with payment

Ordering jerseys via WhatsApp, paying for concert tickets via bank transfer, reserving course slots with a handshake – that works, until orders get lost and payments are missing. A mini webshop showcases the offer, takes the order, and collects the payment in one step. Without programming skills, without a website of your own, set up in under an hour.

For whom: Sports clubs (jerseys, caps, water bottles), cultural clubs (concert tickets, theatre), course clubs (yoga 10-class pass, cooking course single booking), any club that wants to sell 3–20 products online.

Core topics: Three use cases (Fan shop, ticket shop, course registration), comparison table (own webshop vs. mini webshop vs. social media), combination of on-site + online (pre-order + collection at event), costing for 50 orders/month, step-by-step setup.

→ Go to guide: Creating a club shop

Guide 5: Payment solution for associations – one platform for all sections

Platform · Split Payment · Sub-Merchants · Association reporting

Umbrella associations with 20–500 sections face a structured problem: every section has its own payment solution (or none at all), the association has zero overview and has to demand the association share manually. The solution: A central payment platform where each section gets its own account with its own branding and its own payout. Via Split Payment, the association share is automatically deducted at each transaction. No content in the Swiss market covers this topic – this guide is the first.

For whom: Cantonal sports associations, professional associations with continuing education offers, music associations with regional sections, umbrella organisations with section structures.

Core topics: Three architecture models (Decentralised vs. Platform vs. White-label), Split Payment explained, Sub-Merchant onboarding, two reporting levels, three scenarios (Sports association, professional association, music association), regulatory aspects (GwG, FINMA, SRO), cost comparison with 40 sections and EUR 500,000 volume.

→ Go to guide: Payment solution for associations

Which guide fits your club?

All five guides at a glance – sorted by payment occasion, Payrexx product, and typical club type.

All prices excl. VAT. Fees apply to Swiss consumer cards and TWINT. Status 2026, reference values.

Accounting and billing for clubs

No matter which payment solution your club chooses – at the end of the event or payment cycle, the cash register must balance. Modern Payment Service Providers provide you with an online Dashboard with daily closing, CSV export, and breakdown by payment method. This greatly simplifies the work of the club treasurer and the audit by the auditing body.

Booking in the Swiss chart of accounts SME: You book PSP transaction fees as bank charges (account 6840) – without VAT deduction, as payment services are tax-exempt according to Art. 21 Abs. 2 Ziff. 19 MWSTG. A transit account (e.g. 1090) neatly reflects the time delay between member payment and payout to the club account.

For most Swiss clubs, the following applies: As long as the annual turnover remains under EUR 100,000 and the club is not registered as commercial in the commercial register, no VAT applies. Revenues from membership fees, donations, festivals, and shop sales are booked in the club accounting as income – regardless of whether they were collected in cash or cashless.

All club payments from a single source

With Payrexx, you combine QR code payments, Paylinks, and mini webshops via a single Comerciante account – with consolidated settlement and payout to your Swiss club IBAN. Non-profit organisations receive a 50 % discount on paid subscriptions.